As of Dec. 13 I became the president of the William S. Hart Union High School District governing board.
I am excited for the opportunity to serve the district as board president. I listen and research the issues. I am open to all interested parties while dealing with district issues. I have been with this district for over 38 years (30 years teaching and eight on the board).
We have made a change in our calendar that should please everyone. Nov. 1 will no longer be a school day. Elementary districts have that day off and many of our students follow suit, to watch siblings, or the sugar hasn’t cleared. To make that happen we will start school on Monday, Aug. 12.
So many things to “talk” about. The elephant in the room, or rather the Bison or the Hawk: The Hart “Indians” has always seemed a bit off in our country today. As a history teacher, I remember teaching so many times that Columbus never got to India; therefore the peoples found were people NOT Indians. Really just an interesting side note at the time, but as of late, 20 years ago, the term “Indians” has stirred some hurtful memories for indigenous peoples. Many schools have retired their mascots, and we will also. What Hart chooses will be the mascot, be it Hawk, bison or …?
Hopefully we will be able to solve our labor issues quickly. It just seems to me wrong to lay off employees and give raises at the same time. Years ago, we had a similar situation and we, the teachers, voted to forgo a raise and keep as many employees as possible. Not the same time, not the same teachers and not the same Hart.
We are spending $4 million to install lights on several campuses. We start later (state law) so we end later, and practices end later; therefore, we need light. We are re-turfing Canyon High School’s football field at just under $774,000.
Questions? How can we lay off people and fail to pay our employees what they are worth if we have all this money? We cannot use special reserve funds for capital outlay project to pay employees. These monies are not interchangeable. We cannot use money from projects to pay employees. That would be against the law. I understood that years ago while teaching in this district and I am sure the teachers of today are just as informed.
We had great successes in sports and academics. Honors all around. I got caught up in the Castaic basketball frenzy. In the playoffs: win No. 1, then No. 2 and then the third win on Feb. 23. I could not be prouder of our newest school.
Come to a board meeting. Open houses soon!
Linda Storli
Santa Clarita
